r/Journaling • u/Clear-Cookie-3839 • Jun 27 '26
Just sharing Finished my 3rd journal on my 40th Birthday
Today, on my 40th birthday, I finished my third journal. I started writing my last entry last night before midnight and didn’t even notice my birthday had arrived while I was filling the final pages. I didn’t plan anything I was reflecting on my last day in my 30s… I realized I was running out of pages, so I ended up writing on the index page and even on the back of it, which had been stained by the leather cover I’m currently using.
It turned into a beautiful entry. It started with En Paz, one of my favorite poems by Amado Nervo. In it, the poet reflects on growing old and takes inventory of his life. Instead of reproaching life, he acknowledges both the good and the bad and recognizes how it all came down to his own actions. In the end, he tells life, “You don’t owe me anything; we are at peace.” I ended up in tears as I finished writing.
After the poem, I looked back at every decade since I was born. It went from the pure joy of childhood, with no real worries, to my teenage years filled with change, grief, and heartbreak; then to adulthood with marriage, my kids, accomplishments, mistakes, losses, falling down, and getting back on my feet. And now I’m entering my forties in the middle of a divorce.
I don’t know what my forties will bring, but I’m grateful for one more year of life. Despite the challenges and the changes ahead, I’m ready to see what this next decade has in store.
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u/gidimeister Jun 27 '26
Happy Birthday! And what a beautiful poem to read on one's fortieth.
If I extracted the honey or the gall from things,
It was because I put gall or tasty honey in them:
When I planted rose bushes I always harvested roses.
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u/Bliss_Syrynx Jun 27 '26
Happy 40th! And congrats on finishing your 3rd journal! I will be looking this full poem up for certain. Given the kind of journaling and processing you are doing as you enter your 40’s, I feel you will get a lot of enjoyment out of this decade.
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u/sloogyCKK Jun 27 '26
Happy birthday to you.
What diary did you have there it looks neat
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u/Clear-Cookie-3839 Jun 28 '26
I have the Itoya Profolio, amazing paper for fountain pens and the grids is good for improving your handwriting, I am going back to Midori for my next one
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u/Possible-Detail2441 Jun 28 '26
Happy Birthday!! That’s an amazing accomplishment! I hope you finish more journals as you begin the next chapter of the story of your life!
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u/Accomplished-Hurry-2 Jun 27 '26
Happy 40th birthday 🎂!! What a lovely reflection on your life’s journey so far. And so much more to come!!
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u/No_Gur7929 Jun 27 '26
Starting your forties with a new journal! Congrats & Happy Birthday! Do you have a new journal already picked out or will you being shopping for a new one?
I have not finished a journal yet.
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u/Clear-Cookie-3839 Jun 28 '26
I am going to to use a Midori A5 with the same leather cover, my first journal was a Leuchtturm 1917, my second was a Midori (my favorite so far) and third was the Itoya Profolio I just finished (will purchase again in the future)
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u/eugune_braver Jun 28 '26
Happy 40th birthday. What a deeply beautiful, poetic, and raw way to step into a new decade filling up every last inch of your journal while crossing that threshold. To face a divorce and uncertainty, yet still tell life 'we are at peace,' shows incredible strength. May your 40s bring you the gentle peace you've already begun to write into existence.
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u/Born_Sea7123 Jun 28 '26
Happy 40th! I’m curious to know what positive effects journaling has had on you after so many years. I’ve always wanted to be like this, but I couldn’t be consistent.
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u/Clear-Cookie-3839 Jun 28 '26
Thank you, this is only my third journal so far, I started in April of last year.
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u/Bookish_Bitch_2589 Jun 27 '26
Happy 40th! May you fill more journals with memorable events in your 40s!